DALLAS (105.3 The Fan) - The Dallas Cowboys were widely considered a candidate to trade their pick in the NFL Draft on Thursday night, and once the picks started to roll in, those possibilities seemed to increase.
However, the Cowboys ultimately ended up staying put and selecting defensive tackle Mazi Smith out of Michigan.
And according to Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones, a move up was never under consideration, and a move back was unlikely as well.
“We really didn’t have discussions (about trading up from 26) because we had 3-4 guys that we wanted to have discussions about," Jones said.
"If anything, there was a lot more intensity put into the thought of moving back."
So why were the Cowboys intent on staying put?
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According to Jones it was simple - they wanted Smith from the beginning, and did not want risk losing him by moving backward.
"But at the end of the day, we just felt like Mazi Smith separated himself from the other 2 or 3 players we were having discussions about, and we didn’t want to take the chance of losing him, Jones said. "As it turns out, there were 3-4 defensive linemen that were picked to finish out the first round. We feel good about what we did, but if anything, we had more discussions about going back than we did about moving up.”
The Cowboys will now attempt to add more impact players tonight in the second and third rounds, with both offense and defensive prospects still squarely on the table.